As Gameboy Turns 25, Has Nintendo Still Got It?

Nintendo’s Gameboy has sold over 118 million units worldwide since it was released 25 years ago in April 1989. Helping establish the electronics maker as a dominant force in the market for handheld gaming consoles, the 8-bit hardware, originally priced at 8,000 yen, became the platform for some of the iconic games of a generation, including Tetris, Super Mario Land and the Pokemon series.

Veteran game industry commentator Hisakazu Hirabayashi believes Nintendo has to return to form as a company that can help game developers sell their games.

Hisakazu Hirabayashi

Digits spoke about the Gameboy’s legacy with game analyst Hisakazu Hirabayashi, a 30-year veteran commentator on the topic who has written several books about the industry. Edited excerpts:

WSJD: What was the secret of Gameboy’s success?

Hirabayashi: Game fans in 1989 were looking forward to Nintendo’s upcoming Super Famicom (game console, eventually released in 1990), and weren’t anticipating the launch of a brand new handheld console. So it was quiet for a while, but then Tetris became a huge boom, which got the ball rolling for Nintendo. Personally, I think the genius of Gameboy was that it was able to display four shades of gray. This allowed the game designers to use different tones and give depth to the characters, unlike the flat-imaged Space Invader games.

WSJD: The success of Gameboy and the preceding Famicom created what you refer to as an “80s-style business practice” at Nintendo, which has an integrated hardware-software model. Many believe this must be changed.

Hirabayashi: Focusing on both the gaming hardware and software has its merits. There was also a time when third parties were willing to pay Nintendo because selling their games on Gameboy or Famicom would bring in a big profit for them as well. But times have changed. Third parties are clearly shifting toward making games and selling them on iTunes or Google Play.

WSJD: Some say Nintendo should make its software content available on smartphones. Do you agree?

Hirabayashi: No, because it will only result in short-term profits for the company and undermine everything it has worked hard to build. There are other ways to restructure the company, like utilizing its game distribution know-how. Nintendo has to return to form as a company that can help game developers sell their games.

WSJD: What is your fondest memory of Gameboy?

Hirabayashi: I was 27 years old when it came out and I enjoyed the hardware very much. This was back when Japan led the global gaming industry, and game fans from across the world were eager to find out what the next-big thing from Japan would be. So I’d be in the U.S. with my Gameboy in my hand and everyone would stop me and ask if they could touch it or play with it for a while.